from "PUB 101: Publication of Self in Everyday Life"

Tag Archives: New Movies!

The 2018 reboot of The Grinch felt like nothing more than another thoughtless Hollywood remake created with the intentions of capitalizing on an already popular story. The original adaptation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, was an animated TV special released in 1966. Since it was a TV special, the runtime was approximately 20 minutes and the film was basically just an animated version of the book. It’s a great 20minute episode (my family still watches it almost every year). The live-action version starring Jim Carrey was released in 2000, and it has got to be one of the best Christmas movies to this day! The jokes are hysterical, the costumes are amazing, and the sets and props are surreal! I was super excited about the new film because I love both of the other adaptations, but it was incredibly disappointing.

Unfortunately, the new animated adaptation of The Grinch had very little to offer. It felt like they simply took the extended storyline of the live-action version and stripped out most of the jokes. One of the slight alterations made to the plot was that Cindy Lou wanted to deliver a letter to Santa asking for help for her mother. Her mother is depicted as an overworked and exhausted single parent trying to take care of three children while also working night shifts. In the end, the mother’s struggles feel unresolved and the focus remains on the Grinch and his feeling of belonging.

The new movie had several well-known actors, yet the voice actors didn’t add anything special to the film. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the Grinch, but the film may have been more entertaining if they had cast a comedian for the role. Steve Carell, for example, would’ve been a great pick. Carell actually alters his voice dramatically to make exciting characters (example: Gru from Despicable Me).

There were a couple of laughs throughout the movie, but on the whole there just wasn’t anything special or new. Children might enjoy The Grinch, but I don’t think it’s worth the admission rate. Save your money for better holiday movies coming soon to theatres.

Bohemian Rhapsody will have you stomping your feet and singing in theatres, but it may also leave you irritated if you’re a devoted Queen fan. The movie follows the formation of the band with a focus on Freddie Mercury, capturing their experimentation with music and successes on tour. The film focuses closely on Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) as he struggles with his sexuality.

Looking at Bohemian Rhapsody strictly as a film, it was an exciting movie worth seeing on the big screen. The beginning of the film and band formation felt rushed; the movie quickly moved from concert to concert, which was entertaining but had me worried there wouldn’t be much of a storyline. In the first 20-30 minutes of the film, I began to wonder if this movie was just an excuse to have a cast dress up as the band and recreate their biggest moments. Fortunately, this feeling subsided as the movie progressed and the writing became more comedic and emotional.

The film had a strong cast that helped build up these comedic and emotional scenes. Rami Malek made the concert scenes feel real and energetic, while also making Mercury’s loneliness evident and overwhelming. Malek also manages to make record deals seem hilarious, but the humour in these scenes should also be attributed to Mike Meyers. That’s right—Mike Myers has a cameo. He plays the EMI executive Ray Foster. Though Myers’ screen time is brief, it was memorable.

The main criticism I’ve been gathering about this film is that there are major inaccuracies that were simply added as a means of making the movie dramatic. I must admit, I love Queen’s music but I didn’t know much about Freddie Mercury or any of the band members. Without much knowledge of the band, I genuinely enjoyed the story. Refusing to standby blissfully ignorant, I searched online for the main causes of frustration. This article highlights the two main concerns: the timing of Mercury’s HIV diagnosis, and portraying Mercury as a villain for quitting to make a solo album. Perhaps this is just a good reminder that even “true stories” in Hollywood are often, well, not the most truthful. I still recommend seeing this movie in theatres, but don’t walk away thinking the events portrayed are factual.

The most accurate fact highlighted in this movie was probably Freddie Mercury’s love of cats…

*If you’re interested in Bohemian Rhapsody, you may also enjoyA Star Is Born.

Beautiful Boy captures the exhausting, cyclical nature of addiction and relapse. This movie is based on the real memoirs of father and son David and Nic Sheff, which follows Nic (Timothée Chalamet) as he struggles with his addiction to crystal meth. The film shows the relationship between the father and son through flashbacks, emphasizing the strength of their relationship and how it begins to crumble as the stressful, reoccurring heartbreak from addict behaviour becomes seemingly unstoppable.

Addiction is a sensitive subject to capture on screen, but the actors and director handled the subject with taste. Steve Carell demonstrated the breadth of his acting range, moving away from his typical roles in comedies to play Nic’s relentlessly loving father. Carell was also joined by his former costar from The Office, Amy Ryan, who plays the part of his ex-wife. Without a doubt, Chalamet deserves a round of applause (or perhaps an actual award) for his performance as Nic. It’s difficult to portray an addict, but Chalamet did an amazing job without ever feeling like he was overacting. Many actors have expressed the difficulty of portraying real people, but every actor, especially Chalamet, managed to do so in a convincing yet sensitive manner.

In regards to cinematography, there are many slow scenes that focus on specific characters, emphasizing their personal emotions. These scenes capture the internal struggles people face in different artistic ways: making conversations around them inaudible as they try to smile and laugh along with others, adding music that resembles a train increasing in speed, showing people lying alone on washroom floors.

Beautiful Boy received a high motion picture rating (rated R in the United States), but the film would be an excellent watch for mature teenagers as a means of starting discussions around drug addiction and the effect on friends and family. It could be used as an educational tool because it is based on a real story and isn’t overly graphic.

Beautiful Boy is an emotional and personal story handling a heavy topic, but the most beautiful aspect of this movie is the undercurrent of hope throughout adversity.